All the days of rumors have come to an end as the Chicago Bulls are expected to announce the hiring of former ISU men’s basketball coach Fred Hoiberg on Tuesday in Chicago, multiple outlets have reported.

The Bulls sent out a press release late Monday night stating a “major announcement” at 2 p.m. Tuesday at the Advocate Center in Chicago. The release didn’t mention Hoiberg specifically, but many outlets have reported the deal is done. 

The announcement was expected by many leading inside reporters of Chicago and Iowa State after the Bulls’ well-chronicled poor relationship with former coach Tom Thibodeau reached an end last week when they formally announced his firing.

News slowly leaked out during the weekend that Hoiberg was negotiating a contract with the Bulls somewhere in the range of five years and $25 million. 

Hoiberg has been rumored to go to the NBA, specifically the Bulls, since Iowa State’s first-round exit from the NCAA Tournament courtesy of Alabama-Birmingham. 

Bulls’ GM Gar Forman was an assistant coach with the Cyclones during Hoiberg’s playing days at Iowa State, which fueled the rumors. 

It also was reported that Hoiberg had interviews for the coaching vacancies for the Orlando Magic and New Orleans Pelicans. Those vacancies have since been filled.  

The rumors boiled over at the end of the weekend, and when reporters caught Hoiberg before catching a plane to Chicago, the decision seemed all but over. 

The former ISU coach will take over a Bulls team that reached the quarterfinals of the NBA playoffs in 2015. A roster with stars Derrick Rose and Joakim Noah, complete with rising players Jimmy Butler and Nikola Mirotic, will have an immediate chance to make an impact in the league. 

Experts have said Hoiberg’s style of basketball, dubbed “Hoiball”, will translate well to the NBA. 

The Mayor’s five years at Iowa State were some of the most successful seen in the history of the men’s basketball program. He led the team to four straight NCAA tournaments after a drought of six seasons without an appearance. 

In his last two seasons he brought home some hardware, winning back-to-back Big 12 titles. In last season’s Big 12 run, he brought his team from behind in multiple games and ended with a win against Big 12 powerhouse Kansas. 

There has been no shortage of speculation of who will be the successor to Hoiberg, despite no official word on Hoiberg until Monday night. 

Current ISU assistant coach T.J. Otzelberger has been the leading candidate and has even received backing from Jamie Pollard, according to reports. 

Jeff Hornacek, the current Phoenix Suns coach and former ISU guard, has been another name thrown out. 

The last time Iowa State had a coach vacancy after Greg McDermott left for Creighton, it was filled with Hoiberg within two days.

Whoever takes over will have a consensus top-10 team in college basketball, and maybe, depending on the source, a top-five team. 

The first ISU men’s basketball season since 2010 without Hoiberg at the helm will begin in late September.